By David Bash

In this vast, fertile underground we love to call the worldwide pop scene, there are some artists who you just know should rise up and become stars, and Cliff Hillis is one of them. On his second album, Better Living Through Compression, the Delaware native continues to display his all-around music acumen with a batch of tasty, edgy tunes that fans of anyone from the Raspberries to Rooney will surely love. Crunchy power poppers like "So Much To Tell You," "Two Of The Same" and the particularly radio friendly "Go Go Go" proudly sit alongside moodier pieces like "Madeline," the swaying "Six Feet Under," the beautiful, tasteful "China Heart" and the gorgeous luminescence of "All These Memories." The best song on Better Living Through Compression is probably "Better Than Myself" which in a better world would be a hit single and in this world could easily be the centerpiece of a twenty-something soundtrack.